Neonicotinoid pesticide stifles bumblebee egg-laying

Exposure to systemic neonicotinoid pesticides causes queen bumblebees to lay 26 percent fewer eggs. That rate of decline could result in the extinction of some wild bumblebee populations, according to researchers at the University of Guelph.

Specifically, researcher Nigel Raine studied the impact of thiamoxin, one of the commonly used neonicotinoids, finding that exposure reduces the chances of a bumblebee queen starting a new colony by more than a quarter.